Nobody But You
by Digidestined Dude 15
Summary: The annual School Duel between Duel and North Academy is afoot, and Jesse is ecstatic about reuniting with Jaden after so long. However, they've barely communicated since he left Duel Academy, and Jesse is wondering if something may be up. And what's with Alexis? Is she involved in this somehow? Christmas/Xmas Spiritshipping fic (Jaden x Jesse / Judai x Johan) later sexual themes
1. Prologue

There was no place he'd rather be than where he was going. There was no one he'd rather meet than the friends he was about to reunite with. There was no person that he could even compare his feelings for than the man he was ready to face once again.

As he gazed across the sparkling blue sea, sailing on a luxurious cruise ship headed for a remote island in the middle of the sea, Jesse Anderson looked up at the clear, winter night sky and smiled warmly. Even though it was very cold out on the top deck of the ship, Jesse was surprisingly warm and tingling with excitement. He felt like nothing could dampen his mood.

It had been several months since Jesse, the three elitists from the other Academys and the others from Duel Academy had arrived back from the other dimension, the one Jesse found himself in after Yubel had taken possession of him. It had been hard on him, not being with the friends he'd gotten so close to during his excursions at (and away from) Duel Academy, but he was glad that it was about to end.

That day's date was December 22nd. Three days until Christmas Day, but less than two days until the long anticipated grudge match between Duel Academy and North Academy. Little over twenty-four hours from that moment would mark the beginning of the annual School Duel.

Jesse and the rest of the North Academy students and faculty were on their way to Duel Academy for the match. As opposed to using their private submarine, Chancellor Foster managed to borrow, for the entire school to ride, the SS Mokuba. Despite being no bigger than the average ferry, and much slower than the submarine, it was one of the most elegant cruise ships that Kaiba Corporation had ever put into production. There were spacious suites, luxurious hallways, even a five-star restaurant; that ship had it all, and over the next two days, North Academy residents would call it their "Home away from home."

The students from both schools were excited to learn that this School Duel would be much different than the previous ones. Instead of a single exhibition duel between two opposing student, each school would represent three of their top students to duel. The match-ups would be randomly selected, and the first school to take two wins would be victorious.

Jesse was one of the lucky three people that made the cut to represent North Academy. He was not only chosen due to his one-of-a-kind deck, but also because, with Rainbow Dragon now a part of his deck to give it the power boost it needed, he was now considered the top duelist of his school. He felt honoured by all the fuss they were making over him, and that he was now considered a celebrity in his own school, but he honestly couldn't care less about his Duelist Status or his popularity. The only thing that mattered to him was seeing Jaden again.

The bluenette flushed as he reminisced his times with his best friend at Duel Academy. Jesse couldn't think of a time, during that period, that he wasn't spending time with Jaden; the latter had practically made it his personal mission to be Jesse's escort during his stay. The boys sat next to each other in every class; they spent their nights together in Jaden's Slifer dorm; they pulled pranks on Syrus; they even went to the hot springs once or twice; not to mention the deal with the different dimensions, sacrificing themselves and whatnot.

Jesse, in all honestly, had never been so relaxed around anyone that wasn't his Crystal Beasts. Before he met Jaden, he had a difficulty trusting most people. He would talk to anyone, but he always felt that he needed to keep his guard up around them, like they might hurt him in some way or another. However, the minute he saw Ruby playing with Jaden and Winged Kuriboh, Jesse knew for a fact that Jaden could be trusted without a doubt and opened up to him.

Jaden became one of the few people in the world (not including the Crystal Beasts) that he got close to on a personal level. He told Jaden things that he had never told anyone before; he let Jaden in his personal space, even so much as letting Jaden throw his arm over his shoulder (something he never let anyone else do before). Sometimes, Jesse couldn't help but think that he and Jaden were destined to be as close friends as they were by some overseeing eye, because he was happy that Jaden was now a part of his life.

At that last thought, Jesse couldn't help but feel saddened and frown. Ever since he returned to North Academy, he had barely heard from Jaden at all. He had sent Jaden a number of letters and email after returning home, each delicately worded and often rewritten to truly explain what was going on in his life that he wanted to share with Jaden. Half of the time, Jaden only sent him single paragraph (sometimes even single sentence) responses, giving him a quick summary on the classes he slept through, the amounts of food he'd eaten and the duels he'd won; nothing at all personal.

The fact that Jaden put so little effort into their communications gave Jesse an uneasy feeling, as if it was some indication of the value Jaden put on their relationship, but he tried not to worry about it. It would take a lot for Jesse to lose the faith he had in Jaden, and a simple lack of communications certainly wasn't going to do it.

"Yo, Jesse!" a voice called out.

Jesse, leaning against the rails of the ship, turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice. He saw a tall man in a brown North Academy jacket, black pants and dark brown winter boots walking up to him. He had a head of short, messy red hair that covered his ears, and bangs that hung just barely over his light-blue eyes.

He walked up to Jesse and leaned against the railing next to him, giving him an excited grin. "You ready for the School Duel?" he asked. "I just know that this is gonna be our year. No way we're gonna lose to anyone at DA!"

Jesse grinned back at him. "Don't go bettin' you're boots on that, Arron," he said teasingly. "Duel Academy has a number of students that are just as strong as any of us, maybe even stronger. And don't you dare forget about Jaden Yuki as well, he'll definitely be a challenge."

That boy was Arron Pearce, and he happened to be Jesse's closest friend at North Academy. They shared a dorm room, all of the same classes, and a spot high in the school's ranking. In a way, he was a substitute best friend for Jesse to fill the spot for Jaden.

Arron was considered the second best duelist of the school, a very close second to even Jesse, despite being only a second year student. He was almost considered to send to Duel Academy instead of Jesse, but was turned away because of the fact he was a year behind the other exchange students. He was also chosen as one of the three representatives for his school.

Arron's grin changed to a smirk. "Don't worry about me, not even Jaden Yuki can take me down! Bring him on!"

Jesse laughed. "All right, but it'll be you're funeral."

Arron gave Jesse a pouting look; his cheeks puffed out and eyes narrowed. "Come on! You don't think my Gladiator Beasts can take him down?" he asked.

"The Gladiator Beasts aren't the problem; it's the guy who runs them."

Both boys turned their heads behind them, watching a mid-length blonde-haired girl walk up to them. She was wearing a North Academy jacket with the same colour scheme as Arron's, but instead of pants was wearing a brown ruffled skirt, as well as a pair of black high-heeled boots. She had her hand on her hip as she gave Arron a condescending look, staring at him with a confident smirk.

Arron scoffed, glaring back at this girl. "Well who asked you?!" he screamed frustratedly.

Jesse laughed cheerfully and patted Arron on the back. "Easy there, partner. Save all the energy for the duel," he said teasingly. He turned to face the blonde girl and smiled. "Ya know, Kenna, you might not wanna criticize the few friends you have, or you might find yourself up the creek one day if your in a pinch."

The blonde shrugged. "Whatever, you big babies," she said nonchalantly. "I just came out 'cause Foster told me to fetch everyone for dinner. Unless you wanna turn up free lobster and steak, I suggest getting a move-on."

Kenna Powers, despite her slightly obnoxious attitude, was a close friend of Arron and Jesse. She tended to speak her mind, no matter where she went or who she was taking to or about. She was, for all intents and purposes, the school's local tomboy, and she'd pin anyone to the ground if they didn't believe her (which she demonstrated on Arron at one time).

Kenna was originally a student from East Academy, but she transferred to North Academy as a third year student after learning that the school was extremely lacking in female students. She had a burning passion for introducing more and more female students into the world of duelling, as the current ratio of male to female duelists was 8:2; not to mention that most of those females tended to be, in Kenna's words, "Too weak to even hold a duel disk." Since arriving at North Academy, she'd managed to convince a large number of female students from overseas to join the school, bringing the ratio of males to females from 9:1 to 7:3

Arron's eyes lit up at the sound of delicious (and free) food, and Jesse resisted the urge to laugh at the dribble of drool that was falling from the edge of his mouth. "Holy cow!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, thats what people are saying is in the steak," Kenna stated, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Now hurry up, or you'll be eating the stuff they cleaned out of the propellors early."

Arron mocked Kenna with a fake salute, grinning like an idiot as he did so. "Yes, ma'am! Lead the way, oh Alien Queen!" he said teasingly.

Though somewhat annoyed, Kenna smirked at Arron and folded her arms across her chest. "Very good, you Mindless Beast," she teased back. "Now follow your queen so that you can feed on some raw meat or something."

Arron rubbed his hand over his stomach and growled hungrily. "Oh, yeah! I haven't eaten raw meat in a long time. Thank you so much, my queen! How can I ever repay you?"

"Jump overboard and we'll call it even. I'll dump the meat in after you."

Jesse could never not chuckle whenever he got a chance to watch the little dance that Kenna and Arron did, as it was too funny to resist. Arron would act like a hungry tiger from a roman colosseum, and Kenna would assume the roll of his queen. Their nicknames were somehow inspired by their respective decks; Arron's Gladiator Beasts and Kenna's Aliens. How it started, no one knows; but since the two had met, they go though that routine at least once a day. It was essentially their way of flirting.

This would, however, lead to something else...

Arron grinned and looked over at Jesse, licking his lips. "I don't know, your highness," he said before flinging an arm over Jesse's shoulder and pulling him close. "As much as I love wet, salty meat, I could never leave my precious little jewel behind. I'd miss him too much, and I know he'd miss me, too." Arron cupped Jesse's chin in his hands and turned the boy's head to face him, giving Jesse a flirtatious look. "Isn't that right, my beautiful little gem?"

Jesse flushed a brilliant red as he stumbled to find a way to respond. Arron, being bisexual, flirted with both Kenna and Jesse on a regular basis. Jesse would normally become embarrassed and be at a loss of words, and Kenna simply went along with it and flirted back with a snarky attitude. He was viewed, more or less, as the switch-hitting Atticus Rhodes of North Academy.

As the bluenette managed to pry Arron off of him and step back a few feet, Kenna huffed, turning a heel and heading back inside. "Suit yourself," she said nonchalantly. "Stay out here and starve with your precious gem, but don't be surprised if there's nothing left when you get there."

Arron almost gasped. "Like that's gonna happen!" he shrieked. He grabbed Jesse by the wrist and hauled him across the deck. "Meat, meat, the wonderful food, the kind that puts you in a wonderful mood~!" he sang, skipping happily across the deck after Kenna. "Hurry up, Jess!"

Jesse laughed and tried to keep up. "I'mma comin'," he replied. As he followed Arron and Kenna, ignoring the former's off-pitched singing about various food, he went back to thinking about Jaden.

The reason Jaden had barely talked to him was something that eluded him, but Jesse didn't care if Jaden was a lousy communicator; all that mattered was that he was about to see his best friend again. Jesse was going to see the man he'd grown incredibly close to, and he didn't care if seeing his cheerful smile and hearing his wonderful voice were the last things he would experience; he would be happy, regardless.


	2. Chapter 1) Arrival

It was within his sights; that small, isolated island where his best friend was waiting for him. He could see the towering, golden pillars that made up the school's exterior from the ship's helm, where he stood excitedly, and just barely make up the walkway that led up to it. He could even make out the crowds of students, Obelisk, Ra and Slifer alike, and faculty surrounding the pier in anticipation for North Academy's arrival.

As Jesse continued to gaze upon the Duel Academy island, he barely noticed that Arron had walked up behind him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "So, excited to see your friends at DA again?" he asked softly.

Jesse didn't even turn around to look at him as he answered; "You better believe it!" he stated firmly, gripping the railing with an even tighter grip.

There were few moments in Jesse's life that could compare to the heart-pumping rush of adrenaline and completion that he was feeling at the moment. The only thing he could think of would be the moment he acquired the Rainbow Dragon card and its spirit accepted him as its master. Jesse could only imagine the emotional roller-coaster that he'd be first seat on when he reunited with Jaden.

"Friends, no friends, soul mates or whatever you two are; just don't forget that we're gonna beat Duel Academy at the School Duel this year," Arron said in a stern tone. "I get that you like your pals, but I don't wanna end up losing to them again."

Jesse nodded, turning attention away from the island and back to his friend. "Don't you worry, partner," he said confidently. "With Rainbow Dragon in my deck, my beasts and I ain't going down so easily this time!"

Arron grinned. "Thats what I like to hear," he said.

Suddenly, a loud ding ringed throughout the ship. A young female's voice was heard all over the ship through an intercom. "Attention, all North Academy students and crew. The SS Mokuba will be arriving in the Duel Academy docs in about five minutes. Chancellor Foster has requested that everyone meet him at the gangplank for the meet-and-greet with the students and staff from Duel Academy. Thats all North Academy students and staff to the gangplank. Thank you, and have a nice day."

Jesse and Arron looked knowingly at each other.

"Guess its time," said Jesse.

Arron nodded. "Lets get our game... on," he replied, barely getting the words out before Jesse took off and raced for the ships gangplank. Arron took a few seconds to watch Jesse run, letting of a disheartened sigh, and ran after the latter to catch up.

Jesse ran as fast as he could, paying little attention to the man behind him. As he raced down the halls towards the ship's gangplank, a short fantasy played out in his mind that caused his cheeks to flush.

When he walked off the boat and arrived on dry land, he saw Jaden clawing his way through the hundreds of students until he was at the front of the crowd. Jaden yelled out Jesse's name excitedly and tackled him with a hug. Jesse was surprised, but hugged back, pulling the brunette in closer...

Jesse shook his head, ridding his mind of the fantasy before anything else could happen. He didn't believe that Jaden would hug him when he walked off the boat; the most he could expect would be a high-five or a handshake. Even so, he found himself smiling, and his feet moving faster and faster every second, running toward his long awaited return to Duel Academy.

It wasn't long before every person in North Academy was surrounding the gangplank, which was located on one of the lower decks of the ship. Everyone could see the ship pulling into docs, as well as the crowd of Duel Academy students that were packed into it. It was giving everyone from North Academy a sense of adrenaline.

Chancellor Foster stood in front of the gangplank with a stern look in his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest. He loudly cleared his throat, signaling for everyone to cease the hushed chatter amongst themselves, a cue that was followed. "All right, I just want to make one thing clear," he spoke after everyone quieted down. "Two years ago, we lost to a freshman named Jaden Yuki, even with our school's top cards being used by the best duelist at our disposal. Last year, the School Duel was canceled because of the GX Tournament that Sheppard insisted 'needed to be held.' Duel Academy is a formidable foe, but this year, we'll have beaten Duel Academy into the ground." Foster motioned to the front of the crowd, where Jesse, Arron and Kenna stood side-by-side. The three students took a step forward, closer to Foster. He held up a gesturing hand to each student as he called out their names. "Jesse Anderson, Master of the Crystal Beasts. Arron Pearce, the Gladiator Beast Tamer. And Kenna Powers, the Alien Mistress. These three students are the top duelists of our prestigious academy, each with their own unique deck that has rarely been seen outside of the school's walls." Foster threw an invigorating fist into the air, gazing confidently into the eyes of his students. "With our top three nominees, North Academy will come out on top! No one will stand in our way of claiming victory!"

Everyone else threw their fists in the air and cheered, including the representatives. Everyone was stoked for this epic grudge match, and they felt confident that North Academy was going to win. Even Jesse, knowing the capabilities of all of Duel Academy's most likely choices, knew that it would be a difficult time for anyone facing Kenna, Arron or himself, even Jaden.

Just as the cheering died down, the ship had come to a complete halt, parking itself horizontally along the entire Duel Academy port. The gangplank that Foster was standing in front of began to lower itself and extend to one of the docs. As soon as it made contact with the ground, Jesse was gone. He plowed past the chancellor and all but jumped from the deck onto the docs. He could see Chancellor Sheppard waiting patiently at the bottom with his arms behind his back and smiling. He also saw Syrus, Hasselberry, Chazz, Blair, Alexis and Atticus just behind Sheppard, in front of the crowd. Jesse waved to his friends, but was surprised that Jaden wasn't there with them. It looked like everyone in Duel Academy was there, so he wondered where Jaden could be.

When he reached the docs, Chancellor Sheppard was the first to speak. "Welcome back, Mr. Anderson," he said, holding out his hand; Jesse followed suit and they exchanged a brief handshake. "I wish you and your school the best of luck in the School Duel."

"Why, thank you, thats mighty kind of you," he replied. He glanced over Sheppard's shoulder and watched Syrus and the others walk up to him. Sheppard quickly took a step aside and allowed the group to surround Jesse.

"Glad to have you back in our platoon again, soldier," said Hasselberry, giving Jesse a firm pat on the shoulder.

Syrus nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Its been too calm around here ever since you and the others went home, and thats saying a lot for this place."

Jesse laughed. "Well, its nice to know no one missed me," he said jokingly. He took a final look around, confirming that Jaden was nowhere on the port. "Oh, hey, where's Jaden? I really wanted to catch up with him."

Jesse glanced briefly over in Alexis' direction, but rose an eyebrow when he noticed her gasp and look away. "Um, I think he's still up in his room," she replied. "He was probably up late last night prepping for the School Duel tomorrow. You know Jaden; if theres anything he loves more than eating and dueling, its sleeping."

The way Alexis answered him had Jesse suspicious. She made no eye contact, she had her arms crossed and she had a slight blush forming on her face.

Jesse leaned in towards Syrus and Hasselberry, out of Alexis' hearing range. "Y'all wanna tell me what's up with Alexis? She's actin' kinda funny," he whispered to them.

Syrus only shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as ours," he replied.

Hasselberry nodded. "Ever since you went back to base camp, Private Lexi's practically been AWOL," he answered. "She'll still talk to everyone, but she doesn't really speak more than she has to. She's really kept her trap shut; won't talk to anyone about whatever's buggin' her, not even her brother."

"The only one she's had any sort of real contact with since you've left is Jaden, but even that came to a standstill about two weeks ago," Syrus stated.

Jesse was nothing if not surprised by this news. Sure, he never took the time to really get to know Alexis, but he figured that he knew her well enough not to isolate herself from her friends, especially not Jaden. He couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between the two of them.

Just as Jesse was about to run off and meet up with Jaden, Arron and Kenna came running up to him, each giving Jesse a condescending look.

"Thanks for ditching us, jerk," said Kenna, folding her arms across her chest and leering. "Don't forget, we still have to sail back to North Academy in two days. Try that, again and you'll literally be sleeping with the fishes."

"Yeah, not cool!" Arron exclaimed. "I mean, you couldn't have waited an extra few seconds before you bowled over our Chancellor for us to keep up with you?"

Jesse grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, guys, guess I just plum forgot about y'all the second the ship stopped," he said, laughing half-heartedly. He raised a hand and gestured to each of his friends as he introduced them. "Everyone, this is Syrus, Hasselberry, Chazz, Atticus and Alexis, and these are my pals from North Academy, Arron and Kenna. They're also our school's representative, along with yours-"

The second he laid eyes on Kenna, Atticus had pushed Jesse aside, mid-sentence, walked up to her, and seemingly pulled a rose out of nowhere and gave it to her. "Well, hello, Miss Kenna," he said, giving her a flirtatious gaze; eyes narrowed, eyebrows raised and an attractive, toothy grin. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you in any of the previous School Duels; and might I say, it is most definitely a pleasure."

Jesse flinched, suddenly fearing for the current arrangement of Atticus' face. "Uh, A-Atticus, you might not wanna-" As he was about to finish his warning, Atticus held up his free hand and gave Jesse a confident look.

"Don't worry, Jesse, I know what I'm doing," he stated.

Jesse sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't say I didn't try..." he muttered, taking a step back.

Atticus focused his attention back on Kenna, who's face was just as stoic as usual. "So, what I hear is that you're one of the top duelists at North Academy. Think you could give me a lesson some time? Preferably over dinner, maybe even a movie."

Kenna looked down at the rose in her hand and smirked. "Why don't you close your eyes, I'll teach you a lesson right now," she said seemingly innocently.

Atticus grinned wider. "Do with me what you will. I love to learn." His eyes shut, and the others watched curiously as Jesse held up his hand, counting backwards from five with his fingers. In between five and one, Kenna had walked around Atticus and wrapped her arms around his abdomen. When his final finger folded in, everyone winced as they watched Kenna lift up Atticus, bend herself over backwards and slam Atticus' head into the ground in a suplex. Everyone other than Jesse was in shock.

Jesse sighed. "I tried to warn him..." he said aloud. "Kenna hates being hit on, especially by players like him. Atticus got off easy, compared to some of the other guys that she's done that move to."

As Kenna released Atticus and stood back up, letting the latter fall heavily to the ground and rub his aching head, she turned around and looked him in the eye. "Here's a lesson: Try flirting with me again, and this will seem like a happy memory," she said using an innocent and yet ominous tone.

Atticus turned slightly pale, giving Kenna a weak thumbs-up. "Y-Yes, ma'am!" he squeaked, quickly jumping back to his feet and backing away from Kenna, cowering behind his sister.

Alexis smiled, listening to her brother whimpering behind her. "Impressive," she said.

Kenna smiled back. "Thanks," she replied. "Anyway, since you know which opponents you'll be seeing tomorrow, its only fair we know the same."

Chazz chuckled, pointing at himself with his thumb. "Number one goes to The Chazz," he stated arrogantly. "Of course I was their first pick; I am the GX World Champion, and I took down the Shadow Riders and Society of Light single-handedly. There's no one else who's even nearly as qualified!"

Blair gestured for Jesse to lean in. He knelt down slight while he cup a hand over his ear. "He was the third pick," she whispered. "It was a tie between him, Syrus and me, and he drew the long straw."

Jesse chuckled softly. "I figured as much," he whispered back.

Chazz winced as he felt Hasselberry's fist drive itself into his head. "Our REAL ace in the hole is the Serge, soldier," he said, twisting his fist atop Chazz's head and causing the latter to shriek in pain.

Jesse smiled cheerfully. He had been hoping Jaden would be one of the representatives dueling for Duel Academy. With any luck, Jaden would be facing him in the School Duel, and it would be a spectacular duel that both of them would remember forever.

"All right, so Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton will be two of our opponents, but who's the third?" Kenna asked.

Syrus frowned, poking his fingers together sheepishly. "Well, the thing is..." he started softly. "We still don't know who the final rep is."

Arron raised an eyebrow at Syrus and crossed his arms. "Your kidding, really?" he asked.

Blair nodded her head. "Chancellor Sheppard told us that, since we're mixing things up this year, the final representative would be a mystery," she explained. "The person dueling already knows about the arrangement, as far as we know, but won't be revealed until the beginning of the School Duel."

Jesse nodded knowingly. "I guess thats fair," he said. "The tournament isn't until tomorrow, so its only natural that you don't want your opponent to know your deck."

"Given the timeframe, one could easily build a deck specifically to counter another's playstyle," Kenna added. "Not a bad strategy, I admit." Suddenly, she started smirking. "But you don't know anything about mine or Arron's decks, so its the same for us."

"Then may the best duelists win," Chazz said, smirking back at her as he looked over here. "And I'll give you a hint... it won't be you."

"Care to make a wager on that?" Kenna offered, a single hand on her hips. "I'm open to anything, so bring it on. There's just something about putting punks like you in their place that gets me in the Christmas spirit."

Chazz took a moment to think, cupping his own chin with his hand. Abruptly, he grinned and snapped his fingers. "If Duel Academy wins, you have to dress up as 'Ms. Duel Academy' and make out with Chancellor Sheppard in front of the entire school."

Kenna nodded. "Agreed. And if North Academy wins, you have to spend the entire winter break back at NA, doing whatever I say. Essentially, you'll be my slave."

Chazz extended his hand, as did Kenna. They exchanged a brief handshake. "High stakes, my kind of bet," said Chazz, somewhat impressed.

"Thats just how I do," Kenna stated. "Anything less is a waste of time. Don't hesitate to let me know if you wanna make it even more interesting."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Jesse sighed, feeling empathetic for Chazz and his stupidity. He knew Kenna quite well, enough to know that she rarely made a bet that she wasn't confident she could win. She had studied every top duelist at Duel Academy - Jaden, Chazz, Alexis, even Syrus - so that she knew what she was getting herself into when she faced Duel Academy. If she was willing to bet stakes as high as those, Kenna was absolutely sure that she would win, which meant that, unless a Christmas miracle happened, Chazz would be riding the SS Mokuba back to North Academy, most likely in tears.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse saw the Chancellors exchanging pleasantries and confident glares. As much as he wanted to see what would happen next, Jesse knew that he needed to go see Jaden before something else happened that took time away from that. He was only at Duel Academy until the end of the next day, December 24, and he wanted to extract every moment possible to spend with the best friend he hadn't seen in months before being dragged back home. So, before anyone could notice, Jesse slowly backed away from the group - giving himself a reminder to apologize to them later - and, once he was far enough away that he felt like no one would see him, he took off like a rocket.

His feet threw themselves in front of each other, pushing him up the hill that was paved with a golden yellow dirt road; his arms swung back and forth, propelling him faster; his lungs inhaled and exhaled rapidly; and his heart beat like a drum, nervous and anxious that he was about to reunite with Jaden after what felt like forever.

"I'm coming, Jay!" Jesse said excitedly, running even faster than before.

Even though he wanted to get away unnoticed, Alexis had not taken her eyes off of Jesse since he walked off the boat. She watched painfully as he ran away from his friends, racing after Jaden, she was sure. Alexis sighed, a distraught aura surrounding her. "Why does it have to be him?" she muttered to herself.


	3. Chapter 2) Reunion

He stood outside that same door, surrounded by a wall of pale yellow. There was a nameplate right beside the door with the surname "Yuki" engrave in it. The outside of Jaden's Dorm hadn't changed a bit since he left, Jesse thought. With any luck, neither had its only resident.

Jesse hesitated to knock on the door. On one hand, Jaden was Jesse's best friend in the world, and he wanted nothing more than to spend his time with Jaden. On the other hand, however, Jesse was afraid that Jaden didn't want to see him. He didn't mind the fact that Jaden didn't show up at the pier to meet him on his own; he knew how Jaden was when it came to sleeping in. But adding that with Jaden's lack of effort in communicating while he was away had him worried. It seemed like was putting little to no effort into their relationship at all.

Was Jaden not interested in being friends with him anymore, he wondered. Could he being trying to cut Jesse out of his life? Had he moved on? Did he-?

As Jesse was about to finish another self-conscious thought about his friendship with Jaden, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door from the other side. This was followed by a sudden opening of the door. Jesse's heart skipped a beat and his lungs came to a brief, but abrupt halt when his eyes met with those of someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Jesse?"

There he was; Jaden Yuki stood before him, exactly the same as Jesse remembered; Same multiple shades of brown hair, same red Duel Academy jacket that was rarely washed, same stunning brown eyes. It was really Jaden.

"H-Hey, Jay," Jesse said nervously, holding out a hand for a handshake. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Jaden grabbed Jesse's hand and shook vigorously, giving him an ecstatic smile. "Hey, man!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in, like, forever! Winged Kuriboh just woke me up and told me North Academy's ship just pulled into the docs." Jaden looked behind him, into his bedroom. "Come on out and say 'hi,' buddy!"

Jesse watched and Jaden's beloved duel spirit made itself known, flying out through the door and cooing happily. Suddenly, Ruby Carbuncle appeared on Jesse's shoulder and pounced on Kuriboh, starting a small scuffle between the two spirits. Neither duelist could resist laughing.

"Guess they're still the same as always," Jesse said jokingly.

Jaden nodded. He then clapped his hands in front of his face and bowed to Jesse. "I'm REALLY sorry I wasn't there to greet you!" he exclaimed. "I forgot to set my alarm clock and overslept."

Jesse flinched for a second. He didn't expect Jaden to just apologize out of the blue like he did; it wasn't like him. Usually, Jaden would make up some lame excuse - such as duel spirits sneaking into his room while he slept and disabling his alarm clock from the inside - and try to weasel his way out of whatever trouble it got him in. Instead, Jaden was... telling the truth? Admitting that he did wrong? Asking Jesse for forgiveness? With no personal experience with Jaden performing these actions, Jesse was at a loss for words.

Jesse stumbled for an answer, trying not to sound like his mind had stopped functioning up until now. A few seconds later, he found his mouth starting to speak. "Uh... you're forgiven..."

Jaden looked up from his bow with his normal goofy grin, but a hint of graciousness in his eyes. He gave a relieved sigh. "Thats a relief," he said. "For a second there, I thought I might have to start looking for a new best friend."

Jesse shook his head, inexplicably finding the words to say again. "Now come on, Jay, you oughta know me better than that," he said teasingly. "I'll still be your best friend, no matter what happens."

Jaden laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess I should."

As he watched Jaden turn around and pull out a key to close and lock his dorm room, Jesse took note of how easy it was for him to go back to casually talking to Jaden. He imagined that it would be slightly awkward, having barely talked to one another since they parted ways, but it seemed like everything was as it was before he left. He could still communicate with Jaden, even if the latter did a poor job of it while he was away, and Jaden still valued him as his best friend. Jesse sighed contently, feeling his cheeks flush and his lips curve into a warm smile.

Jaden spun around, tucking his key in his pants pocket. He smiled at Jesse. "I was gonna go down and meet the rest of North Academy..." he spoke, staring at Jesse with a raised eyebrow. "You ok, Jess? You're looking kinda spacey there... Like me in history class."

Jesse took a few seconds to respond, trying to bring himself back down to Earth. He chuckled sheepishly and started awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I just kinda dozed off for a second there, but I'm good now." He followed Jaden as they both made there way down from the Slifer balcony and walked down the steps. "So, you were saying?"

"Hm? ...Oh, yeah!" Jaden replied. "I was saying that I was gonna go and greet the guys from North Academy, but is there anything you wanna do while you're here?" he asked as both boys started walking along the yellow path, which was now outlined by a small line of green grass poking out from under a thin layer of beautiful white snow. They weren't walking anywhere in particular; just following the path at their feet "I mean, you'll be gone in two days. I wanna make it last before you go home."

Jesse's smile widened. "That's awful nice of you, Jay," he said. "Although, the only thing really I wanna do is just hang out with you. We haven't done that since before the whole... 'Getting sucked into two dimensions and possessed by spirits' debacle and whatnot."

Jaden chuckled softly. "Yeah, that was a fun experience, huh?"

Jesse laughed. "Can't say it was something I've done before, that's for sure." There was a brief silence between them, neither feeling an overwhelming need to speak as they reminisced their past adventures.

Jaden was the first to speak. "I, um... I forgot to thank you for saving everyone, after what Yubel did," he spoke, glancing away. "You were willing to give up your life just to send me... and everyone at Duel Academy home. So... thank you."

"Wait... YOU'RE thanking ME?" Jesse asked, a look of surprise and subtle shock all over his face. The boys movement came to a halt, taking a moment to stare into each other's eyes. Jesse brung his hands down over Jaden's shoulders, keeping the latter's attention on him. "After everything I've heard from Syrus and the others, I should be on my knees worshipping you, Jay! You were ready to throw yourself through an unstable dimensional portal on the slim chance I might be on the other side. You put finding me ahead of everything, including the safety of you and your friends. You... you put your life on the line a number of times for me... I-I could never thank you enough for all you did for me... I owe you my whole life, Jaden."

Jesse watched Jaden's face grow red, feeling the same effect on his own. Jaden slowly, but surely, grabbed Jesse by the waist and leaned closer. "Jesse..." his voice said longingly; it dripped heavily of sadness, also.

"Jaden..." Jesse mumbled back. He started to feel his body leaning closer towards Jaden. The latter performed the same action, pressing his body up against Jesse's in a warm embrace. Their heads were locked beside each other, ears pressed firmly together. They suddenly found their chests pressing against one another; they could feel the expanding and contracting of each other's lungs.

"I missed you," they said, seemingly in perfect unison.

Jesse wrapped his arms around Jaden's neck, and Jaden had his arms tucked under Jesse's and his hands shad slid upward to his back, pressing between the shoulder blades and bringing the two closer together.

Neither body wanted to move; despite the crisp, cold air of Duel Academy's winter blowing against their bare skin and through their thin clothes, practically telling the boys to go inside. They wanted to stay put, and let the moment last for an eternity, if possible.

The warm moment was soon shattered, however, when Jesse felt a sudden jolt of pain and screamed in agony...


	4. Chapter 3) Adrian's Story

"Shirley, release!"

As Jaden watched Jesse run around in circles, trying to shake off the crocodile that was using the seat of his pants as a chew toy, debating whether to try and help his friend or burst into laughter, he turned around to see three familiar faces running their way and smiled. "Jim! Axel! Adrian!" he called out excitedly.

Jim gave Jaden a nod of acknowledgement but quickly ran to help Jesse, who was currently under assault by the former's alligator, Shirley. Adrian and Axel ran behind him. Jim dropped the Duel Disk he was carrying and placed his hands around Shirley's snout, patting to top of her snout while rubbing the bottom part. Adrian and Axel stood near Jaden, watching Jim do what he needed to. "Come on, girl, nice and easy," he said in a soothing tone.

Shirley let off a short growl, but obeyed her owner and unclamped her mouth from Jesse. "Thank the lord!" Jesse exclaimed, rubbing his rear end to sooth the still lingering pain while letting off a sigh of relief and standing up straight, while Jim started to stroke Shirley's snout.

"Sorry 'bout that, mate," Jim said, picking up Shirley and putting her back into the harness on his back. "I let her down to stretch her legs, but I forgot that Shirley here gets a little wild when she's in cold climates. She ran off just as we got off the boat and we couldn't keep up with her. Don't worry though, she just had her shots last week so you're not liable to get any infections or nothin'."

Jesse grinned nervously, making a mental note to get a checkup with the school nurse before he left to go back to North Academy. "Good to know..."

Jaden turned around to face the two other men behind him. "So what are you guys doing here anyway?" he asked. "Not that it's not great to see you all after so long, but it's kind of a surprise."

Axel was he first to speak. "Chancellor Sheppard invited all of us down to watch the School Duel between you guys and North Academy," he explained. "I'm not going on my survival excursion until Christmas day, so I agreed."

"Always the party animal, Brodie," Adrian said in a sarcastic tone, smirking. "Anyway, I came down as well because I felt like I owed you guys an apology after what happened between me and Yubel in the other dimensions."

Jaden waved a hand and smiled. "Water under the bridge," he said. Suddenly, he had another thought. "Though, I am kinda curious about how you got back to this dimension. Syrus told me that you didn't get transported with everyone else after I merged with Yubel... Oh, and what happened to Echo?"

Adrian winced, starting to scratch his cheek as it started to turn a soft shade of red. "Well, it's kind of a long story..."

"We got time," Jesse said, finally feeling the pain of Shirley's bite starting to fade.

Adrian sighed. "All right, it went a little something like this..."

(-x~X~x-)

Adrian stirred softly, barely regaining his consciousness. He had no idea where he was, but judging by the rugged and sifting surface that he was lying on, the cool breeze he could feel through his tattered clothes, and the sound of small, crashing waves behind him, he could only assume that he was on a beach of some sort. The only question he had was whether or not he was back home, or still in another dimension.

Despite some slight stiffness and pain in his joints, Adrian mulled through and brought himself to his knees. He glanced around, confirming that he had ended up on a beach. He looked out to the ocean, wondering how he got there and where exactly he was.

In all honesty, Adrian would have been fine with being anywhere, as he had nothing left for him in any world now. His family paid little attention to him back home ever since his adoptive brother, Shido was born, and in any other dimension he was utterly powerless. He could no longer feel Exodia's power within him anymore; he hypothesized that Yubel must have taken it when she beat him. He had nothing but his deck, his duel disk, and the clothes on his back. He didn't even have Echo by his side anymore...

Adrian gasped, the memories of what he had done to Echo suddenly rushing back. He remembered her willingly walking up to him, ready to surrender her duel energy for him to obtain Exodia's power. He remembered Exodia's hand reaching out of the gate and grabbing her, squeezing her until she screamed from agony. He remembered her body turning to stardust when Exodia had drained the last of her energy... And most importantly, he remembered that he asked her to do it, and that he stood there emotionless as Exodia literally squeezed the life out of her.

How could he have been so stupid, Adrian thought. Echo had been with him through everything; she was his first and best friend. She was the first person he met after his adoption, and they'd been together ever since. She helped him develop his boxing skills to impress his father. She became an elite operative for the Gecko Financial Group immediately after he did, dedicating her life to the company and his well-being. Echo was there for him through everything, and he repaid her by feeding her to a colossal beast, just so he could feel powerful for about a day and then get that power taken away before he could even use it. Never in his life had he regretted something so much and wanted to undo it.

Adrian sighed, knowing that life wasn't going to be so generous to him a second time. He received his only miracle when he was discovered by Gilbert Gecko; there was next to no chance that he'd get a second one. He had sacrificed Echo and there was no way to bring her back.

As he found the strength to get to his feet, Adrian took one last look at the ocean, watching the waves flow back and forth. Just as he was about to turn around and look for some indication of his location, he noticed something floating in the water. It looked like a piece of brown fabric. It looked familiar to him. While he took a moment to remember where he had seen it, a wave came up behind the cloth and pushed it further towards the shore. Adrian took a closer look at it, and he discovered something utterly shocking.

That piece of fabric was actually a large brown cloak, and that cloak was around the neck of a person. The cloak covered much of the person's body, but he could just make out a head of short brown hair. Even though the person was unconscious and water kept splashing over their face, Adrian could easily recognize who it was.

"Echo..."

Adrian had to rub his eyes and double check to be absolutely sure he wasn't seeing things; he wasn't. That was definitely Echo floating out there. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, and he couldn't care less; all that mattered was rescuing Echo.

"ECHO!" Adrian screamed, dropping his duel disk and cloak on the beach and running out into the ocean. He dove head-first into the ocean, swimming out to Echo as fast as he possibly could. His muscles hurt immensely with each stroke of his arms and kick of his legs, and he could already feel his skin going numb from the freezing temperatures of the ocean, but the only thing he could focus on was Echo's seemingly lifeless body and hoped that it was just that; seemingly.

Adrian prayed to whoever was watching over him that, if Echo was still alive, he'd be a better brother to Shido; he'd commit himself to his father's company, free of ill-intent; and he promised that he would tell Echo how much she meant to him.

Despite the distance and harsh waters, it didn't take long for Adrian to catch up to Echo. He took hold of her unconscious body, almost flinching at how cold she was to the touch. After pulling her into a position where he could simultaneously hold her and keep them both above water, he quickly pressed an ear over her chest, listening closely for breathing and a heartbeat. He smiled happily when he heard a weak, but indistinguishable sound of a beating heart and felt the expansion and compression of her lungs. She was alive, but just barely.

Just as Adrian was about to start swimming back to the shore to do what he could to help Echo, the waters started pushing against both of them. Adrian watched as one of the Gecko family's spy submarines surface before them. When the water settled down and Adrian managed to find an equilibrium, the submarine's hatch opened, revealing one of the Gecko Financial Group's elite operatives, one Adrian knew from the team that was sent on standby with Echo. He saluted to Adrian. "Mr. Adrian, thank goodness you're all right!" he said, stepping out of the submarine and standing on the ship's hull with a life preserver in his hand. "Hang on, we'll have you and Captain Echo out of there in no time."

Adrian nodded, thanking his lucky stars for the timely arrival of one of his father's submarine. "Thank you. Also, get a medic ready; she may have hypothermia," he called out, now realizing that he was back in his own dimension.

The elite nodded, calling into the submarine for a first aid squad.

Adrian swam up to the step ladder attached to the hull of the ship, lifting Echo out of the water as best he could and leaning her against his chest. As he looked down onto the woman shivering and soaking wet, he couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, Echo, I'll never take you for granted again..." he said, pulling her tighter towards him.

-x~X~x-

Adrian sighed comfortably as he stepped out of the submarine's barracks, dressed in typical Gecko spy attire; a black long sleeve shirt and matching pants and black boots, minus the spy gear. It had been the first time since he'd traveled dimensions that he was able to change clothes and shower, so he was extremely grateful that he ran into a Gecko submarine.

After getting rescued and pulled aboard, Echo was rushed to the on-board infirmary to be examined. Along the way, the doctor explained calmly that, from her appearance alone, she could tell that her life was not in danger, and that she was most likely experiencing only a mild case of hypothermia. However, they would need to keep her under close eye and try to maintain the little body heat she had left. Afterwards, she would be transferred to the Gecko Family's Medical Center. Adrian agreed and let her do what she had to before they carried her off to the infirmary. Afterwards, the crew insisted that Adrian get cleaned up and change clothes, which he gratefully agreed too.

As he walked back to the ship's control room, where the crew was waiting patiently for him, Adrian's thoughts fell back onto Echo. Even if the doctor said she would be just fine, he couldn't help but be nervous for her well-being. Her skin was freezing when he held her, and was shivering like crazy. He knew enough about first aid to know that someone with hypothermia, mild or severe, needed immediate medical attention. He had some faith in the Gecko medical staff and supplies, but there was only so much they could do until they reached land, and he worried that Echo may need more than what was available.

Even without knowing how they got home, Adrian felt it was his fault that Echo ended up in the other dimension in the first place. If he had only shut off Professor Viper's Bio Band absorption machine, like he was supposed to, then Yubel wouldn't have sent him to two different dimensions and Echo wouldn't have followed him into one of them; she wouldn't have sacrificed her duel energy and life for him so he could unleash Exodia; she wouldn't have ended up in a freezing ocean and developed hypothermia. Despite all the fun that they had in their childhood, he couldn't help but wonder if she would have been better off not even knowing him.

"Mr. Adrian!" Adrian looked up from his train of thought, watching a crew member walk up to him and salute him. "I trust you're ready to speak with the rest of the crew?" he asked.

Adrian nodded. "Yes," he replied. "Thanks again for the change of clothes."

"Not a problem at all, sir. Now, if you'll please follow me, I'll bring you to the control room." The crew member gestured a hand down the ship's hallway. Adrian followed him as he lead the way down the hall.

It didn't take long for them to arrive in the ship's control room. It would amaze an ordinary person if they saw all of the state-of-the-art equipment that was set up - half a dozen radar screens, a GPS layout that was projected on a fifty-eight-inch flat screen, even a jettison tube running along the side of submarine's hull - but since he was already acquainted with the interior of his father's machinery, Adrian didn't look twice at any of it.

Adrian was then lead to submarine's captain's seat, where he was introduced to the executive officer. The man wore an outfit that was similar in design to the one Echo wore during her time as captain - same green jacket, hat and boots, but instead of a skirt wore black pants. He had a short, brown beard. The man stood up from his chair and extended his hand to Adrian. "Mr. Adrian, it's a pleasure to see you again!" he said excitedly.

Adrian shook his hand and nodded to him. Adrian recognized the executive captain as Mr. Dealey, a close associate of Echo's while she worked for the Gecko Financial Group. "Indeed, Mr. Dealey," he replied. "I have to ask, though: where are we? And how were you able to find me?"

"We're just off the coast of America, very close to East Academy to be exact," the captain explained. He gestured to one of the crew members standing against the wall. The crew member walked up to them, bringing with him the duel disk that Adrian left behind on the beach. He handed it to Adrian, who simply stared down at it with a look of disgust. "As for your location, we picked up on the GPS tracker that the Gecko Family had installed in your duel disk. We've been searching for you ever since Duel Academy arrived back from the other dimension - little over a month. It was only recently that we picked up on its signal, so we were sent to check out the scene and see if you had arrived back. Thank goodness that we were correct, I'm sure Mr. Gecko would have our jobs otherwise."

Adrian looked up at Mr. Dealey with a look of surprise. "My... father sent you to find me?" he asked curiously.

Mr. Dealey nodded his head. "The minute your signal went off the scanners, he said 'I want my son found as soon as possible' in a tone that made if clear that you didn't want to defy him," he explained. "Even young Mr. Shido wanted to help find you. He's been helping monitoring the Gecko Family's locator satellite for any signs of your duel disk since the order was made official, and he hasn't stopped since." Mr. Dealey smiled softly as he look into Adrian's eyes, which had now become widened with shock. "I tell you, Mr. Adrian, you have one heck of a family. This mission has probably set the company back a couple million, at least, and if we hadn't radioed them while you were showering, they didn't plan to stop."

Those words gave Adrian a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ever since Shido was born and his father started focusing all of his attention on Shido, Adrian had assumed his father would no longer want anything to do with him and had given up on giving him a chance at making any major contributions to the Gecko Financial Group, even referring to Shido as his "one true heir;" Being an elite operative was about the best he could accomplish with Shido in his way. He had even thought that Gilbert had all but pushed him aside in terms of family matters, rarely talking to him outside of business. With Shido, in all honesty, he could see him doing everything he could to help. Shido was always a good kid, helping anyone he saw needed it, and he could tell that Shido really liked having a big brother figure, so it was no surprise that he was pitching in. Either way, even though they weren't family by blood, Adrian was still happy that his brother and father cared so deeply for him.

Adrian pulled his focus away from the touching family sentiments he was feeling inside and stared down at his duel disk - more specifically, the deck that held it. In the deck slot was the Exodia deck that he sacrificed everything to get his hands on, including Echo. The feelings in his stomach quickly changed from warm and gentle to a burning rage. There was no way he wanted anything to do with it anymore, not after everything he put everyone through to get it.

Without warning, Adrian took the deck out of his Duel Disk, walked across the control room and over to the jettison tube. He placed the deck inside and shut the valve.

Mr. Dealey watched curiously as Adrian did what he did. "Um... Mr. Adrian, might I ask what you're doing?" he asked.

Adrian activated the jettison tube as he talked. "Getting rid of something I don't need." He pressed a large red button, and in seconds the deck was shot with a blast of air, out of the submarine. Adrian turned around without batting an eye at the loss of his deck, placing his duel disk back on his left wrist. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's something else I need to do."

-x~X~x-

Adrian walked into the submarine's infirmary without so much as knocking. He saw Echo lying down in a small barrack, and the doctor from before was standing beside her. She had on the same outfit that Echo normally wore, save for the hat, letting a ponytail of long brown hair flow. She held in her hand hot water bottle that was wrapped in a towel. Given the fullness of the bag, as well as the portable boiling pot on top of a wooden work desk parallel to the barrack, Adrian could easily tell that it was filled with hot water.

The doctor looked over her shoulder, spotting Adrian. "Oh, Mr. Gecko," she said. "I just finished getting Captain Echo changed and dried off. I was just about to place this hot water bottle under her blanket to help restore her body heat."

Adrian nodded, agreeing that the procedure was the correct one. "Very good," he said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to just stay here for a while. I'd like to keep an eye on Echo."

The doctor smiled. "Not at all, Mr. Gecko," she said. She lifted up the blankets that Echo was resting under, revealing to Adrian that she was now wearing the same spy clothes that he was, and gently placing the hot water bottle over her stomach and quickly tucking the blankets back under her. Adrian gasped nervously as Echo's face cringed, feeling the hot bottle come in contact with her skin even while unconscious, but then calmed down when her face relaxed. The doctor pulled out a disposable thermometer and carefully placed it in Echo's mouth. She watched the dial on he thermometer for about two minutes and then pulled it out. She looked over at Adrian. "Very good. Her temperature is rising slowly, but very steadily. As long as we don't disturb her or take away the bottle, she should be able to maintain an optimum body temperature within a few hours, give or take."

Adrian smiled widely. He gratefully bowed to the doctor. "Thank you very much!" he exclaimed.

The doctor smiled back. "No trouble at all, it is my job after all," she said. She threw the thermometer in a trash can in front of the bed and went to wash her hands. "I heard that you and Captain Echo were sent to another dimension."

Adrian lifted his head and nodded. "Yeah, we were..." he said, slightly distraught as his mind replayed images of his actions; Echo getting grabbed by Exodia, her crying in agonizing pain, the life getting squeezed out of her... He quickly shook them away, trying to keep them out of his mind. "Never mind that, it's all ancient history to me. So, Echo should be fine within a few hours?"

The doctor nodded. "I'm certain of it. We don't have much in terms of dealing with hypothermia, but the hot water bottle should be adequate enough, at least until we reach land. After that, we can transfer her to a hospital and they can take proper care of her. We should just let her sleep now."

Adrian gave off a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness..."

The doctor took a brief look at Adrian as she finished clearing up. "You seem pretty tired yourself, Mr. Gecko," she stated. "I think it might be in your best interest to go lie down for a bit. I can keep watch over Echo."

Adrian paused for a moment, suddenly dropping to his knees and feeling exhausted. He hadn't noticed at all just how tired he was. His hands were shaking and If the doctor hadn't pointed it out, he may have just kept going until he unknowingly passed out somewhere on the submarine. "I... I didn't even notice..." he said, suddenly feeling weak. "

"Then let's get you in bed," she said, running to his side. She picked him up off the ground and helped him climb into Echo's barrack; the latter was just in far enough for Adrian to squeeze in beside her without any discomfort to either. "Sorry if this is uncomfortable, but we only have one bed in here and I can't leave the infirmary to take you back to the barracks."

Adrian slowly turned on his side, looking at Echo while she slept. Strands of her hair were astray, her lips were chapped, and her face was still pale from hypothermia. Even so, her appearance was enough to make Adrian's cheeks flush. "No, it's fine," he said smoothly. "I'm not uncomfortable at all. If anything, I'll be helping Echo by sharing my body heat with her. In fact..." With the little strength he had, Adrian threw his arm over Echo's body and moved closer to her. He could still feel her shivering, but it wasn't as bad as before. Adrian was happy about that fact. "There, much better..."

The doctor giggled softly. "All right then, sweet dreams Mr. Gecko. I'll just be at my desk, filling out reports."

Adrian smiled. "Thank you, doctor... um..."

"Lucy. Dr. Maria Lucy," she said, smiling.

Adrian chuckled. "Right. Sorry, Dr. Lucy," he said.

As Dr. Lucy took her seat at her desk, Adrian took one final look at Echo. He caressed her cheek with his hand. Even in the state she was in, Echo still looked as beautiful as the day they met. He hoped that, by the time he woke up, Echo would be awake to greet him, healthy as ever.

Adrian barely finished his thought before his eyes became blurry and he couldn't keep them open any longer. He quickly fell into a deep slumber, softly whispering Echo's name as he did so.

-x~X~x-

"Adrian... Adrian, wake up..."

Adrian stirred, hearing a familiar voice calling out to him. The voice was dripping with concern, and by the volume Adrian knew that whoever was projecting had to be close. He felt a hand pressing over his chest, shaking him in a gentle motion.

"Come on, Adrian, get up..."

Adrian's eyes barely cracked open. His vision was blurry, but he could vaguely make out the image of someone leaning over him. He removed his glasses and brought the back of his hand to each of his eyes, trying to rub away the sleepiness that still lingered. After he placed his glasses back on, his vision began to focus, clearing up the blurred image in front of him. It became clearer and clearer, until finally his vision was clear. What he saw brought tears to his eye ducts.

"Echo..." he mumbled, feeling tears suddenly roll down his face. He had to sit upright to make sure he was seeing things right, but he was. She was awake, she had a healthy complexion, and her lips were as red and luscious as ever. "You're all right." He took a quick look around, noticing that he was no longer on the submarine. They were, instead, in a hospital room. He was lying in bed, and Echo was standing next to him.

Echo nodded. "I woke up a few hours ago," she said. "They explained the whole story about me coming down with hypothermia. But don't worry; the doctors told me I'm one hundred percent better. I just have to take it easy for about a week or so and then I'm allowed to go back to work."

Adrian sighed in relief. "That's good..." he said, leaning against the head of the bed.

"Listen, Adrian," Echo said, looking down at her feet with her arms crossed uncomfortably. "I think we need to talk about what happened back in the other dimension."

Adrian sighed once more, but this time it was more out of worry. "I figured as much..." he said. "What I did to you-"

"I'm sorry!" Echo stated abruptly, cutting off Adrian and giving him a look of shock.

Adrian blinked several times, staring at Echo with widened eyes. "Um... excuse me?"

Echo placed a hand over her chest, looking into Adrian's eyes with a look of sorrow. "The darkness in my heart, the anger that I felt towards Yubel... I was the reason that she beat you in that duel. She fed on the darkness that my spirit carried, and she beat you because of that." It was now Echo's turn to tear up. Adrian watched painfully as tears rolled down her face, dripping from her chin and splashing on the floor. She brought her sleeve to her eyes, trying to block the flood of tears. "I'm so sorry, Adrian. You lost the duel. You lost Exodia's power. You lost the opportunity to be king. You lost everything because of me, everything that you deserved your whole life."

Adrian just sat there, watching Echo cry her eyes out and trying to think of a response. He essentially tortured and killed Echo, throwing her aside like a rag doll, and she was crying to him and begging for forgiveness. A large, guilty part of him wanted to throw himself out of the nearby window if he had to continue to watch this.

Adrian got out of bed, stood up and grabbed Echo's wrist, looking her in the eye. "Echo, listen to me," he said firmly. "You didn't cost me the duel. Yubel would have beaten me, with or without your spirit infused in my deck. The only thing you did was restore her power afterwards. It isn't your fault. If anything, it's my fault for letting it progress as far as it did. I could have shut down the bio-band absorption machine and then Yubel would never have been resurrected, but I didn't. Why? Because I gave into a moment of selfishness, that's why."

"But, Adrian, you deserve to be selfish!" Echo exclaimed loudly. "You've been selfless you're entire life, putting everyone else ahead of yourself. You could be head of the company by now if you just learned to put yourself first! Don't you see everything you can be, Adrian?"

"But, Echo, I don't want to be selfish!" Adrian shouted. When he saw the look of surprise and slight fear in Echo's eyes, Adrian calmed down and took a deep breath. "Whenever I act selfishly, bad things happen to myself and everyone else around me. When I teamed up with Yubel, everyone was sent to another dimension. When I tried to obtain Exodia's power, I sacrificed you. When I duelled Yubel to become king, she sent me to the stars and nearly destroyed the universe. Don't you see? Whenever I put myself first, it always causes someone pain and I don't want that.

Echo's eyes continued to produce tears as they looked into the grief-stricken ones in front of her. "Adrian..."

"That's just one of the two realizations I had just after Yubel defeated me," Adrian said, looking away. "The other is that... I can't spend my life without you, Echo. You've always been there for me, and without you by my side I can't hope to do anything. All of my successes in life were because you helped me achieve them... and I don't want to spend my life without you."

Echo gasped when Adrian dropped to one knee and took her hand, gazing lovingly into her eyes. Her cheeks grew red, as did Adrian's. "Adrian, are you...?"

"I am..."

(-x~X~x-)

"Long story short, we're engaged," Adrian explained to the boys, holding up his hand and showing a wedding ring. His cheeks were still stained red with embarrassment and giddiness. "My life now belongs in her hands."

Jim smiled. "Crikey!" he said cheerfully. "So, when's the wedding?"

Adrian scratched his cheek once more. "We haven't really decided on a date yet, we're just kind of enjoying the fact that we're together above all else," he said. "She'd be here at Duel Academy, but she got called on an emergency reconnaissance mission."

"Fair enough," said Jesse. "Well, we're all happy for you. Hope you and your fiancé have a happy life together."

Adrian bowed. "Thank you, that means a lot."

Jesse glanced over at Jaden, but was surprised to see that he had flinched and begun to sweat. He had a look of fear across his face. Jaden turned to face Jesse. "U-Uh... did you say 'fiancé?'" he asked, his voice stuttering crazily.

Jesse gave Jaden a curious look. "Yes..." he said. "That _is_ what you call someone you're going to marry, isn't it?"

Jaden started to turn slightly pale, giving him the appearance of someone that was about to be hit by a truck. He tried to fake a laugh, but Jesse could tell he was forcing it. "R-Right..." he said nervously, making Jesse even more suspicious. "I forgot that I have something I need to take care of, can I meet you later?"

Jesse raised an eyebrow at his friend, but nodded. "Sure, I think I have something I need to take care of as well..."

Jaden quickly shook Jesse's hand and then took off. He looked over his shoulder and waved. "Thanks a lot. I'll come get you when I'm ready. Later, Jesse!"

Jesse waved back, watching as Jaden ran further and further out of sight. He sighed. "Well, that hurts a little bit..." he mumbled to himself.

A firm hand was pressed over Jesse's shoulder. He look up to see Jim smiling down at him. "Nice to see you again, mate," he said, tipping his hat to Jesse.

"You, too, Jim," he replied. "I haven't seen y'all since we all got back."

"Hey, Adrian," Axel said, saying something for the first time since Adrian finished his story. "Can I ask you something?"

Adrian nodded. "Sure, Brodie."

Axel leaned into Adrian's ear and briefly whispered something. Adrian's face lit up a bright red. He backed away a few feet, giving Adrian a look of anger and pointing accusingly at him. "Why would you ask me about _that_!?" he exclaimed.

Axel smirked. "To see the look on your face," he said in a condescending tone. "You know me, the 'party animal.' And judging by sudden panicked expression, I'd say it's true."

Adrian's jaw dropped. "I-IT IS NOT!" he screamed.

"Uh huh, keep tell yourself that..."

"IT'S TRUE!"

"I bet it is."

"GAH!"

As Jesse continued to watch Axel poke fun at Adrian, Jim having a good laugh beside him, he couldn't help but be concerned with why Jaden suddenly had to take off. It wasn't unlike he Jaden to be forgetful, but the way he got all nervous when he said the word 'fiancé' had him curious. And what was with that hug? The way they were hugging, it was like they were a couple, and he liked it. He really liked it. He still wanted it to be happening...

"For the last time, Echo and I haven't done _THAT_ in any way, shape or form!" Adrian shouted frustratedly.

"You know, mate," Jim said to Adrian. "The harder you try to convince us, the less believable you become. Right now, you're not foolin' anyone."

Adrian screamed loudly in frustration. "Fine! Believe what you want!"

The other three boys chuckled, even Axel. "Teach you to call _me _a party animal," he said.

Jesse sighed. "Sorry, guys," he said. "I should probably get back to the ship. I have to talk to someone about something important."

"All right then, see you later," said Jim. He reached into the deck box around his waist and pulled out a card. "Before you go, I have a card I think could go really well in your deck. Not that I'm playing favourites, but I'd like to give the Duel Academy blokes a challenge and remind them that the other four academies are just as good as they are. Go on, take it."

Jesse took the card from Jim's hand and looked at it. He hummed softly, thinking over various strategies that he could use with Jim's card. He smiled. "Yeah, I think this card could go really well with my beasts. Thanks, Jim."

Jim tipped his hat once more. "Not a problem at all, Jess. Best of luck tomorrow."

And with that Jesse took his leave. He had only one person that he could talk to about the feelings he had been having about Jaden, and with any luck he was still on the ship.


	5. Chapter 4) Revolations

"...I'm sorry, would you mind running that by me one more time?"

Jesse squirmed awkwardly, folding his arms across his chest and feeling a strange desire to shuffle his feet across the floor. He was certain that every ounce of blood in his body was rushing to his face, boiling, and then evaporating through his skin. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life about asking such a simple question, but at the same time he knew that it needed to be answered. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked his friend in the eye. "H-How... did you know that... you liked guys?" he repeated, positive he heard his voice rising with each syllable.

Arron gave Jesse a blank stare, unsure of how to answer the question or the reason that brought it up. When Jesse came up to him, just as he was about to go to dinner, and asked to speak with him privately, Arron didn't think much of it; it wasn't unlike Jesse to ask him for advice or help with his deck (the latter of which he had assumed was the reason). So, Arron led Jesse back to the room they shared on the ship and shut the door behind them, each taking a seat on their respective beds. When Jesse didn't take out his deck for Arron to look at, he became confused and asked what he wanted to talk about. What he heard as a response was unsettling to say the least.

Arron blinked several times, finally regaining his composure. "Let's see if I got this right," he said, extending his syllables. "You want to know how I found out I was bi?"

Jesse could no longer speak, but somehow managed to nod in agreement.

Arron crossed his arms, giving Jesse a curious look. "Well... that's not exactly a question I hear all too often; certainly not out of the blue. What brought this up?"

Jesse flinched, feeling his face growing even hotter. "W-Well..." he started as he looked down at his lap shyly. "I went to see Jaden today... and, long story short, we were hugging. And then... I didn't want to let him go. I wanted him to stay in my arms forever, and I could just tell that he felt the same way. I'm not even sure when or if it would have ended if I didn't get bit by Shirley..."

Arron raised an eyebrow at his roommate. "Uh..."

Jesse raised a hand to Arron's face. "Don't ask," he said firmly, lowering his hand once more. "Anyway, the reason I'm asking you this is because... I think I might like Jaden."

Arron's jaw fell slightly limp. "Whoa, seriously?"

Jesse nodded. "Maybe... I don't know for sure. I've never really been interested in guys before, but that was until about an hour ago when I was hugging my best friend for like five minutes outside the Slifer dorm in the cold. I'm just... confused, is all." Jesse looked up from his lap and into Arron's eyes. "That's why I'm talking to you, someone who actually has some experience in this area. How did you first know you were into both guys and girls?"

Arron closed his eyes, letting off a soft hum as he thought. After a few seconds, his eyes opened again and he began to blush. He glanced away as he answered. "I guess... it was when I met you," he said.

Jesse's face continued to flush, but he gave Arron an annoyed and somewhat enraged look and stood up to look over him. "Come on, Arron, I'm being serious here!" he shouted angrily. "If you're not gonna help me, then quit wasting my time!"

Arron stood up as well and grabbed both of Jesse's wrists, looking him squarely in the eye. He had an angry glare in his eye. "I am being serious!" he screamed as he watched Jesse stare back at him with a sense of timidity. "I didn't have a thing for guys before, either. I used to be after every hot girl within sight range, and pay no attention the guys in any way, shape or form. Then, on my first day at North Academy, I saw you, and I thought 'Wow, he's the cutest guy I've ever seen!' And now, I'm going after everyone, regardless of gender. So, thanks a lot, Jesse Anderson, you're the reason I'm bi!"

Any sound in the room suddenly came to an abrupt standstill, as did any movement of either soul. Jesse's eyes were wide open and practically frozen that way, as was his jaw, as he looked into the equally shocked eyes of the man squeezing his wrists to the point that it started to hurt. Soon, there was a look of pain in Arron's eyes and he quickly released Jesse from his vice grip, falling back onto his bed. He buried his face in his hands and leaned against his knees. "Oh my god..." he said, muffled by his hands. "Jesse... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that, I swear."

Jesse took a seat also, but this time taking a seat next to Arron on his bed. "I'm starting to get the feeling that... you flirting with me has more to do with it than just teasing Kenna," he said slowly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Arron lowered his hands and sighed. "You'd be right..." he said, shaking off Jesse's hand. His face began to flush. "It's true that you were the first guy that I had feelings for, but I don't blame you for my being bisexual. That's just who I was meant to be." He gazed longingly into Jesse's eyes. "I thought of a lot of things on the first day we met. I thought you were cute. I thought that you duelled with such a passion, perseverance, and love for the game. I thought that you were the kindest, sweetest, most loveable and respectable person that was every born... That was everything I wanted in a partner, and I didn't care if that partner was male or female."

"I... I never knew..." Jesse said. He couldn't seem to find a better response than that, trying to process the fact that he might have feelings for his best friend and at the same time try deal with the fact that his second best friend had an, apparently, massive crush on him and he never knew about it.

"I didn't know if you were into guys, but I figured that flirting with you wouldn't hurt anyone," Arron continued, leaning backwards with his arms planted behind his back in the bed. "Flirting with Kenna kinda came naturally. Even I don't know how that started, but pretty soon I found myself toying with my 'Alien Mistress' and 'Precious Jewel' on a regular basis, and I liked it that way. It was both fun and satisfying."

Jesse couldn't resist cracking a smile. "By 'fun,' do you mean you're fun or ours?" he asked. "Because I remember the first time you got all cozy with Kenna. I've never seen someone slammed head-first into an iceberg before... from ten feet away."

Arron chuckled softly. "Love hurts," he said jokingly. "Anyway, to answer your question, the moment I knew I was bi was when I realized that there were people from both genders that I wanted to be with, that gender didn't decide who I ended up with. My swing goes both ways and I hope that another swing bumps into me. If Jaden or whatever his name is, is that important to you, you really shouldn't care what's in his pants. You should value him as a partner, not just a dude."

Jesse nodded. "I think I get it now," he said, bringing up and holding a hand over his heart. "To be honest, I've never been drawn to anyone before. I've never wanted to be with anyone or to share my life with them. I wanted to just get through life on my own as quick and painlessly as possible." His hand quickly balled itself into a firm fist, gripping at his vest and his face once again began to turn red. "And then I met Jaden. He changed my entire view of life. He gave me so much strength, and courage, and... he gave me such an amazing friend. That's all I need... I know that I want to be with him now."

Arron smiled warmly, waving around a hand for emphasis. "Then there you have it," he said. "Welcome to the world of the bisexual, we've been eagerly awaiting you. Now, if you want to be in bed with the guy before New Year's, then I suggest getting a move-on."

Jesse's gentle blush quickly changed into an embarrassed glow. "W-WHAT THE- _ARRON_?!" he screamed, his jaw dropped like a drawbridge.

Arron chuckled, a wide, toothy grin spread across his face. "Sorry, I just had to see that look on your face," he said teasingly, ruffling his hand through Jesse's hair. He threw himself backwards onto the bed with his hands behind his head. "Now go on. I'm just gonna chill out here before I get some dinner. I'll see you later."

Jesse gave Arron a subtle pout, but smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Arron," he said. "This was probably hard to talk about, so I really appreciate it."

Arron shut his eyes and shooed him away with his hands. "Whatever, just get out of here. Go make out with your boyfriend or whatever."

Jesse took the hint and headed for the door. As he was about to shut the door, he took one last look back at Arron; he was still lying down in his bed, not doing or saying a thing. Jesse could tell that Arron might be upset over the fact that he didn't see Arron as anything more than a friend, but his priority at the moment was his sudden epiphany and how was going to deal with it. He wanted to go tell Jaden how he felt. He wanted to hold Jaden in his arms once more. He wanted to hear Jaden say the words "I like you, Jesse, and I want to be with you." So, with one last glance at Arron, he shut the door and ran as fast as he could, his mind set on getting to the Slifer dorm. With any luck, he and Jaden would be locked in a passionate embrace until the School Duel the next day.

Arron sighed as he watched the door slam shut. He had a pained expression, yet he was still smiling weakly. "Jaden Yuki..." he muttered. "You're a lucky guy. You better treat Jesse right."


End file.
